Book Review: From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler, by E. L. Konigsburg

This is no ordinary running away story. Claudia Kincaid decided to run away, yes. But, she didn't want to run away from somewhere. Rather, she wanted to run to somewhere:

To a large place, a comfortable place, an indoor place, and preferably a beautiful place. And that's why she decided upon the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City.

Summary:

From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler is Mrs. Konigsburg's second novel, for which she won a Newbery Medal in 1968. It is the story of Claudia Kincaid and her quest for... something. She starts out thinking she is running away because of what she terms "injustice:" the unequal assignment of chores simply because she is the oldest, and the fact that her life seemed to be one big boring routine without end, and the fact that her allowance was hardly enough to do much of anything with. 

Yes, Claudia was unappreciated, and she intended to call attention to that fact by running away. But by the time her adventure is over, Claudia discovers - with the help of the mysterious "Angel" sculpture in the museum and the eccentricities of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler - that she had a much deeper reason for running away. It was a reason she somehow knew, but yet didn't know, and living in the Metropolitan Museum of Art for a week (and her adventures and experiences there) led her step-by-step to the very conclusion she needed to find.

For Teachers and Librarians:

This book, set in the late 1960's, provides a perfect opportunity for comparison and contrast of life then and now. Math comes into the picture when you develop activities devoted to cost-of-living comparisons, or budget development. Could they repeat Claudia and Jamie's adventure on "twenty-four dollars and forty-three cents" today? What has changed? What has stayed the same? Some library science can be slipped in, too: Claudia and Jamie used a card catalogue. Does your library still have one of those? They typed a letter on a typewriter. Do your students know what a typewriter is, let alone know how to use one? You could incorporate the book in a mystery unit as you delve into the "Angel" statue the kids tried so hard to learn about. How did they try to solve the mystery of who carved the statue? What clues did they find? Where did they look for them? So many possibilities: history, math, socioeconomics, art appreciation, even mystery. What can you pull out of this book to make reading come alive for your students?

For Parents, Grandparents and Caregivers:

Claudia and Jamie's adventure is a loved one's worst nightmare. Missing! For a whole week! This book, while showing kids a little bit about the realities of the world and what it takes to try and live on your own, also gives you the perfect springboard to discuss how your kids are feeling. Is running away the best answer when you're upset? How can you let me (us) know how you feel? It's a great opportunity to let them know you are always there for them, and that you want to know how they feel - whatever that feeling may be - so you can help them through it. It is a wondrous thing for a kid to realize they have someone who cares for them unconditionally. There's a security in that. It's the kind of bond everyone yearns for - especially kids.

For the Kids:

Claudia has a lot of the same feelings you may have. It's always interesting to see how someone else deals with things. Sometimes it helps you deal with your own feelings, even if you solve your problems differently than someone else does. Even though running away is not a good idea, and something you should never try, it is fun reading about Claudia and Jamie's adventures. Imagine, sleeping in a hundreds of years old bed! Taking a bath in a public fountain! Riding on the train! Washing clothes! (OK, so maybe that last one isn't such an adventure.) Claudia learns something about herself during this journey. What do you think it is?

For Everyone Else:

Did you read this book when you were a kid? Try reading it again as an adult. Does it feel different to you now? Does it remind you of your own youthful adventures? Ah, life in the late 60's. Train tickets for less than $2. Imagine...

Wrapping Up:

From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler is a journey of personal discovery. Go discover your copy today!

Title: From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler

Author and Illustrator: E. L. Konigsburg

Pages: 162

Reading Level: Ages 8-12

Publisher and Date: Aladdin Paperbacks, September 2007

Edition: Third edition paperback

Language: English

Published In: United States

Price: $9.99

ISBN-10: 1416949755

ISBN-13: 978-1416949756

Author Spotlight: E. L Konigsburg

E. L. Konigsburg never set out to be a writer. Though as a child and throughout her life she loved books, and loved to draw, she did not set out to be a writer. That realization came to her later - following a career in chemistry, then teaching, and during her time as a stay-at-home mom.

The second of three daughters, she was born February 10, 1930, in New York, and grew up in small towns in Pennsylvania. She was an excellent student. After high school graduation, she took a job as a bookkeeper for a wholesale meat plant in order to earn money for college. It was while working there that Elaine Lobl met David Konigsburg.

Elaine Lobl was the first in her family to attend college. She graduated with honors from Carnegie Mellon University, majoring in chemistry, earning scholarships and working her way through in order to stay enrolled continuously. She saw chemistry as a sensible choice, and one that would afford her a solid career with good pay. None of her friends at CMU suspected she wrote, and loved to draw and create, as her chosen field was all about facts and study and experimentation and systematic application of knowledge.

She married David after graduation and began graduate school at the University of Pittsburg, again pursuing a chemistry degree. Once her husband earned his doctorate, they moved to Florida, where Mrs. Konigsburg taught science at a private girls' school. 

Leaving teaching in 1955 to become a stay-at-home mom, she began to think of new career directions to take in life. She said that she became more interested in what was going on inside her students than in what was going on inside their test tubes. So, she started taking art lessons, and then when the youngest of her three children went off to Kindergarten, she finally began to write. She worked out a system of devoting her mornings to writing, and saving housework and other things for afternoons.

The family moved to New York in 1962, and her daughter's challenges and experiences in dealing with the move inspired her first book, Jennifer, Hecate, Macbeth, William McKinley, and Me, Elizabeth. Her second book, published only months after the first, From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler, was inspired by her children's behavior during a family picnic. In fact, most of the 21 books she's written (so far) come from the author's life experiences, and deal with the emotional growth children go through.

E. L. Konigsburg is the only author ever to win both a Newbery Medal (for The Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler) and a Newbery Honor (for Jennifer, Hecate, Macbeth, William McKinley, and Me, Elizabeth) in the same year (1968). She made history again 29 years later when she won a Newbery Medal in 1997 for The View From Saturday, because that is the longest span between any two Newberys awarded to one author, ever.

Her advice to children:

Before you can be anything, you have to be yourself. That's the hardest thing to find.

Sources:

E. L. Konigsburg - Wikipedia

E. L. Konigsburg - Houghton Mifflin Reading

E. L. Konigsburg - SimonSays.com

E(laine) L(obl) Konigsburg

*This article was originally posted May 30, 2008. Sadly, I must now in April 2013 add this edit:

E.L. Konigsburg has died: Friday, April 19th, 2013, at age 83.